The eurozone avoided falling back into recession in the first quarter of 2012 - mainly due to a stronger-than-expected rebound in the German economy, figures showed Tuesday. The European Union's statistics office, Eurostat, said eurozone gross domestic product (GDP) had remained stable (0.0 per cent) in the first three months of the year. In the previous quarter, GDP had fallen by 0.2 per cent in Germany and by 0.3 per cent in the eurozone. But in the first quarter of 2012, strong exports led to a 0.5-per-cent growth rate in Germany, Europe's biggest economy, according to a report of DPA. On an annual basis, eurozone GDP growth was also flat, Eurostat said. The 27-member EU posted zero quarterly growth and expanded 0.1 per cent on an annual basis, according to the Luxembourg-based agency.
